Centipede

Centipede was the trackball game. Instead of a joystick you spun a ball with your palm, and anybody who'd mastered it could whip their shooter around the screen ridiculously fast. Watching a good player chop that centipede into pieces before it hit bottom was pure hypnosis.

It's not in our arcade yet, but it's on the UsuArcade wish list. Your votes can bring it in sooner.

History

Atari released it in 1981. It was designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, and Bailey is remembered as one of the first women to design a hit arcade game. Its pastel colors and garden theme set it apart from the usual space battles.

It was one of Atari's biggest arcade hits of the early 80s and is often credited with pulling in players who'd never paid much attention to video games before. It was followed by Millipede.

How to play

You control a little shooter at the bottom of the screen, free to move around a small zone. From the top, a centipede snakes down through the mushrooms. Every segment you hit turns into a mushroom and splits the centipede in two, each half heading its own way.

Mushrooms get in your way, so clear them out. A flea drops straight down planting new ones, a spider bounces through your zone trying to squash you and a scorpion poisons mushrooms: if the centipede touches a poisoned one, it dives straight at you.

Fun facts

• It was played with a trackball, not a joystick.
• Co-designer Dona Bailey was one of the first women to design a hit arcade game.
• Its sequel is called Millipede.

In the arcade

Centipede is on the wish list: coming soon to UsuArcade. If you want it in the lobby, vote with the “I Want to Play It” button; the most requested games get added first.

In the meantime, if you're in the mood to blast whatever's coming down from above, Space Invaders, Galaxian and Asteroids are already on the floor, with spectators, chat and arcade high scores.

FAQ